Run in the Rain

You're probably looking at this image thinking, "Oh Susan ran in the park like this? Cool! Cute, even!" No, my story is not as romantic and fun as this picture. It was a little different.

So the other day I needed to go to my free ATM, which is inconveniently located about 3 miles away from where I live. I decided that since the weather was so nice I could run/walk/jog there without a problem. I could get my job done and get my exercise in at the same time. Win-win situation! (Gotta love those!). Well,  about a mile and a half in, I looked behind me and saw the sky turn a deep, dark blue and heard a rattle of thunder. I was so close to my destination, so I thought that if I could just make it there, I could wait it out until the rain was over. Unfortunately, my perfect plan backfired and it started drizzling. Drizzles turned to the biggest drops of my life that felt like hail stones, but no. They were real drops. I was amazed drops could be that heavy! The rain started to come down and I didn't know where to go.

Finally, after almost getting attacked by a goose (that's a different story. Hysterical now, but very scary! haha) I stopped at a local gas station to wait it out, as the drops turned to a down pour that was flooding the streets and cars could barely see in front of them. For a few minutes, all I did was just stand and watch the rain come down, hard and fast. After it slowed down a little (not by much, but a little), I decided I was just going to take the chance, and run in the rain. Heavy rain. Hot, heavy rain. It felt amazing! I felt not only refreshed, but I enjoyed taking a risk and just running as fast as I could for the heck of it. It was fantastic.

So my moral of this story: run in the rain. No, not literally every time it rains go for a run, but simply run in the rain. Take a risk of something that seems stupid or unappealing. You may realize that you enjoy it more than you originally thought you would. You may feel pride from it. It was T.S. Elliott who said, "You have to risk going too far to see how far you can really go." I cannot hold that to be more true. Follow Elliott's lead on this, you won't be disappointed. It may seem scary and daunting at first, but the feeling of accomplishment or pride in yourself is worth all the risks in the world. It doesn't matter how big or how small, it's the action that counts. Try it and trust me, you won't be disappointed.

~Susan